Adaptive auditory and phonological apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

An interactive phonological and auditory skills improvement system is provided. The system includes a microprocessor, a display connected to the microprocessor, and a speaker connected to the microprocessor. Phonological game logic is run on the microprocessor, the phonological game logic provides at least one audible sound through the speaker and a phonological test regarding said at least one sound. A user responds to the phonological test which is graphically displayed on the display screen using an input device. Auditory game logic is also run on the microprocessor. The 10 auditory game logic provides at least one audible sound through the speaker and an auditory test regarding said at least one sound. The a user must respond to the auditory test using the input device. The auditory test is also graphically displayed on the display screen.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The Copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

Microfiche Appendix A filed with this patent application, contains 5microfiche pages and 409 frames (including cover sheets and targets).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an auditory and phonologicaldevelopment apparatus and method, and more particularly to aninteractive apparatus and method which provides systematic auditory andphonological training in the form of a series of interactive games.

Strong auditory and phonological skills are necessary for learning howto speak, read, and spell. Unfortunately, many children will not developadequate listening skills and sufficient awareness of sounds of languagewithout systematic auditory and phonological training. A number of knowntraining techniques are available for the development and enhancement ofauditory and phonological processing skills. These known techniques arebased on a significant number of scientific studies and decades ofclinical experience which have been reported in the pertinentprofessional literature. This literature teaches that children benefitfrom systematic sensory training and systematic instruction in auditoryprocessing and metaphonological skills.

Although such techniques are known, implementation of these techniqueshas traditionally been available only through the use of professionals.Therefore, a need exists for a system which children (or even adults inappropriate circumstances) can use to help train themselves in auditoryand phonological skills at their own pace, without the direct use of aprofessional with the benefit of the precise and systematic control oflearning parameters afforded by the use of computer technology.

One system which is currently being marketed provides auditory trainingprograms on a computer over the internet. This system, however, does notprovide phonological training or the range of auditory training asdefined below.

Auditory skills, as defined by those skilled in the art and as useddefined herein, are the skills required for central auditory processes.Central auditory processes are the auditory system mechanisms andprocesses which are responsible for several behavioral phenomenaincluding sound localization and lateralization, auditorydiscrimination, auditory pattern recognition, temporal aspects ofaudition, including temporal resolution, masking, integration, andordering. Central auditory processes are also the mechanisms andprocesses which are responsible for auditory performance decrements withcompeting acoustic signals and auditory performance decrements withdegraded acoustic signals. See, Central Auditory Processing CurrentStatus of Research and Implications for Clinical Practice, Task Force onCentral Auditory Processing Consensus Development, AmericanSpeech-Language-Hearing Association, American Journal of Audiology, Vol.5, pp. 41-54, 1996.

Phonological (or metaphonological) skills, as defined in the art and asdefined herein, are those skills necessary for the conscious ability todetect and manipulate individual speech sounds (i.e., phonemes andsyllables), e.g., move, combine, separate and delete speech sounds aridsyllables. A phoneme is the smallest unit of speech that serves toestablish differences in word meaning within a language or dialect. Aphoneme may vary in its acoustic properties to the extent that thedifferences in acoustic properties do not alter the meaning of theutterance. For example, [tap vs. t^(h)ap]. These phonological skills arethose skills necessary for the awareness of speech sounds in spokenwords, in contrast to written words.

Auditory skills include auditory attention, auditory figure-grounddiscrimination, auditory discrimination and auditory (sequential)memory. Auditory attention as defined herein is the ability to maintainpurposeful focus to sound over extended periods of time. Auditoryfigure-ground discrimination as defined herein is the ability to focuson sound in the presence of competing background noise. Auditorydiscrimination as defined herein is the ability to tell whether twosounds are the same or different. This auditory discrimination includesconsonant as well as vowel discrimination. Auditory (sequential) memoryas defined herein is the ability to remember sounds and words (insequential order). Auditory segmentation as defined herein is theability to detect and count the number of sounds.

Phonological skills, on the other hand, include phoneme and syllablesynthesis, phoneme and syllable segmentation, phoneme identification,and phonological awareness. Sound-symbol correspondence as definedherein is the ability to associate a sound with an alphabetic letter.Rhyming awareness as defined herein is the ability to recognize soundpatterns. Phoneme and syllable synthesis as defined herein is theability to blend sounds into syllables and syllables into words.Phonemic segmentation is defined herein as the ability to detect andcount the number of sounds and syllables in a word. Phonemicidentification as defined herein is the ability to recognize a phonemicsound and store an adequate representation of the sound in long-termmemory. Phonological awareness as defined herein is the ability toidentify sounds and sound sequences within a word.

Therefore, it is desirable to have an adaptive training arrangement,which would allow a child (or other user) to work independently todevelop auditory skills and phonological skills. It is also desirable tohave an adaptive learning tool which would help the child progress on astep-by-step manner to more challenging levels at his or her own rate oflearning with systematic and precise control of learning parameters. Inaddition to providing a system which can help train children in auditoryand phonological skills, it would be desirable to have a system whichwould entice the children to want to use the system.

Therefore, in view of the above, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide a system which a child or other user may utilize tohelp train him or her in auditory and phonological skills without theuse of a professional in an interactive and fun manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To achieve the foregoing, the present invention provides a series ofinteractive multi-media games which may be used in conjunction with amicroprocessor to provide sophisticated computer-training techniques.These computer training techniques include adaptive training to developthe auditory and phonemic awareness skills that are critical for speechand language development and academic success.

The present invention is a system comprised of a microprocessor, adisplay, such as a computer monitor, and an input device, such as amouse, which is programmed with logic which provides both auditory andphonological skill interactive games. A game program or logic is run onthe microprocessor and displayed on the display. The game logic iscomprised of multi-level interactive games which test and train the userin both auditory skills and phonological skills. The input device isused to select the desired game from the program and to select thecorrect answers in response to queries from the program. The systemincludes a speaker system which provides the audible part of the games.

In a preferred embodiment, the system also includes logic for creatingand displaying a user data record for each player showing the primaryskill targeted during play of each game and learning objectives for eachgame. The user data record includes information such as the date, thespecific parameters of the levels at which the user played and acumulative score for each level played.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a system using the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a general representation of the logic foradvancing through the games of the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the game logic for one of the games used in apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now specifically to FIG. 1, a schematic illustration of theinvention is illustrated. The invention comprises a microprocessor 10which is connected in a manner known in the art to a display 16. Aprinter 22 may also be connected to the microprocessor to serve as anoptional display of the results as described in more detail below. Themicroprocessor 10 is connected to an input device such as a keyboard 18.Preferably, the invention may also comprise an input device in the formof a pointing device 22. The pointing input device 22 may be, forexample, a mouse, track ball, touch pad, etc. A speaker, or speakersystem, 24 is connected to provide the audible part of the invention.The microprocessor 10, display 16, keyboard 18, pointer device 20,speaker 24, and printer 22, may be for example, a personal computer withall of these features. The microprocessor 10 runs an auditory gameprogram or logic 12 and a phonological game program or logic 14 asdescribed in more detail below.

An acoustic enhancement program or logic 26 is also preferably run onthe microprocessor 10 as described in more detail below.

In the presently preferred embodiment, the auditory logic 12,phonological game logic 14, and acoustic enhancement logic 26 are loadedto be run on the microprocessor 10 of a personal computer by providingthese programs on a compact disk or other suitable disks. The presentinvention may also be implemented using systems such as the internet,network systems or other wired or wireless systems.

It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that obviously theinvention may also be implemented on a dedicated-type computer where theauditory game logic 12, phonological game logic 14 and the acousticenhancement logic 26 are loaded to run oh the microprocessor 10 by meansincluding ROMs or other permanent or semi-permanent type memory devicesor any other suitable system. It will also be recognized by thoseskilled in the art that the invention may be implemented by means ofdedicated circuitry.

With the invention, the auditory game logic 12 and/or phonological gamelogic 14 provide a series of games to be played by the user. The gameseach provide an audible sound, as described in more detail below,through the speaker 24 which will test the user's auditory and/orphonological skills. The player is provided with a game-type environment(such as cartoon characters) which are perceived to provide the audiblesounds to the speaker 24.

The display screen 16 is used to display the visible part of the gameand to provide a means for the player to answer or respond to theauditory sand/or phonological testing of the game logic 12 and/orphonological game logic 14. The player uses the keyboard 18 and/or thepointer device 20 to respond to the test using a cursor on the displayscreen 16.

The player is prompted to provide some answer or response to the gamesbeing played and must preferably do so within a specified period oftime. If the player responds correctly to a predetermined number ofconsecutive trials or tests, the player advances to a next level in thegame. In some games, if the player provides a predetermined number ofconsecutive incorrect responses, the player is moved back to a previouslevel. A flow chart showing a general representation of the logic foreach of the games and for advancing through the games of the presentinvention is shown in FIG. 2. A listing of all of the program for thepresently preferred embodiments of the system of the present inventionis attached as microfiche appendix A.

The system may also include a speech recognition system.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the game program orlogic also provides a main menu which appearance on the display 16. Inthe preferred embodiment, the main menu program prompts the user toenter the user's name using the keyboard 18. This is particularlyimportant since as discussed below, the system preferably tracks eachuser's progress individually. The main menu also provides a list for theuser to select one of the series of games in the program, preferablyusing a game icon for each game. As discussed in more detail below, themain menu also includes the option of accessing a progress report orchart. The progress report chart may be printed on printer 22. In aparticularly preferred embodiment, a special reporting feature is alsoprovided on the main menu.

In the preferred embodiment, the player is provided with the option ofexiting a game or pausing or suspending the play of a game before thegame has ended. This feature may be toggled off.

All of the games also provide the user or player with the option toreplay a sound or word that is presented to the user. This option resetsa response timer, which is described in more detail below. This featuremay be toggled off.

In a preferred embodiment, immediately after a sound or word ispresented through speaker 24, a visible notification is provided on thescreen 16 to let the user know the sound or word has been presented.This may be for example, in the form of a particular icon (e.g. aspeaker icon) which would appear on the display screen 16.

In a preferred embodiment, the system prevents the cursor from appearingon the screen 16 during the time that a game is providing an auditorypresentation. This prevents the user from attempting to respond beforethe auditory presentation is complete.

In a preferred embodiment of most of the games, a predetermined timeperiod is selected for the user to respond to an auditory presentation,for example a five or ten second time period. If this interval elapsesbefore the player has completed a response, that play of the round willbe treated as an incorrect response. It will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that some games may provide a shorter time periodthan others.

In the presently preferred embodiment, the games in the auditory gamelogic 10 and phonological game logic 14 are comprised of rounds witheach round including ten auditory presentations and responses. Eachresponse is displayed in a score box on the game screen with anindicator as to whether or not the response was correct. In each of thegames, a predetermined criteria is required to advance to the nextlevel. This criteria comprises a predetermined number of correctresponses. In addition, in the preferred embodiment for at least some ofthe games if a predetermined number of incorrect responses are givenconsecutively within the same round of play, the user will be moved backto the previous level. Additionally, in the preferred embodiment forsome of the games, a player may not advance levels until the start ofthe next round of play even though the criterion for advancement hasbeen met.

In a preferred embodiment, a progress chart is provided which tracks theuser's progress for each game. The progress chart is also automaticallyupdated and stored in a memory, such as the computer's memory, aftereach round of play. The progress chart may be, for example, a number ofcircles which are filled in as the user advances with each game and anindication, such as an icon, of each game below the circles. Preferably,there will be some indication such as highlighting, indicating thehighest level achieved by each player for each particular game.

In a presently preferred embodiment, the game logic 12 and 14 includesnine different games, each which tests the auditory and/or phonologicalskills of the user.

In a first game, nine picture boxes appear on the screen. A cartooncharacter, such as a clown holding a number of balloons, presents asound effect through the speaker 24. The sounds comprise environmentalsounds, words, numbers, and speech sounds. The object of the game is toteach the player to recall a series of the environmental sounds, words,numbers and speech sounds. A series of pictures are presented on thedisplay 16. One of the pictures corresponds to the sound presented bythe clown.

The game provides a visual indication that the response time has started(the response timer has been set) by the clown letting a balloon freefrom his hands. The player must respond before the balloon pops. Torespond, the player positions the cursor (using the keyboard 18 ormouse-type device 20) over the picture that corresponds with the soundeffect and clicks on the picture before a balloon which is let go by theclown's pops. After three consecutive correct responses, the gameautomatically advances by increasing the number of sound effects. Whentwo sound effects are presented, the user must click on bothcorresponding pictures in the order that the sounds were presented. Iftwo incorrect consecutive responses are given within the same round ofplay, the player is moved back to the previous level. If the playercontinues to advance levels by providing three consecutive correctresponses, the game advances in difficulty by increasing the number ofsounds, concealing the pictures until after the sounds have beenpresented, and varying the types of sounds. Also at least one andpreferably three different levels of background noise is added.

This particular game tests and improves auditory (sequential) memory,figure-ground discrimination, identification, discrimination andattention

In a second game used in the preferred embodiment, a cartoon train isused to teach recognition of long vowels, short vowels, and consonantsounds. In this game, the player tries to load up each of the cars inthe train with coal by identifying sounds and the position of soundswithin words.

In a first part of the game the player is tested and trained to see ifhe or she heard a particular sound. The train introduces a target sound.A box appears on the display screen 16 displaying the letter thatrepresents the target sound. A second box appears on the screen 16 anddisplays the letter with a strike through it (indicating that it is notthe target sound). If the sound corresponds to the letter displayed, theplayer places the cursor over the box containing the letter and clickson the box before the train rolls away. The rolling away of the trainindicates that the response timer has started. If the sound is not thetarget sound, the player must click on the box with the striked-outletter. The game starts out showing ten empty boxes. If the playerresponds correctly to a trial, one of the boxes is filled with a pictureof the engine of the train. This provides immediate graphic feedback tothe player. If the player responds incorrectly, the box is filled withrailroad tracks. The other games have similar immediate feedbackfeatures.

In this game, if the player has four consecutive correct responsesduring the same round, the game increases the level of difficulty bypresenting a word through speaker 24. The presented word may or may notcontain the target sound. If the target sound is in the word, the playermust click on the box containing the letter. If the target sound is notin the word, the player must click on the box with the striked-outletter. Again, after two consecutive incorrect responses, the level ofplay is automatically decreased and the target sound is presented againin isolation (not in a word). As the player advances levels, and becomesproficient at identifying the target sound in a word, the game continuesto increase the difficulty by introducing more challenging sounds. Inthis embodiment, this game contains a second part or activity. In thesecond part, the player must indicate if the letter sound is heard atthe beginning, middle, or end of the word by clicking on the engine,car, or caboose, respectively. In this ermbodiment, the game continuesat the same level until at least nine correct responses are given by theplayer. The game then progresses to more challenging sounds. In thissecond task or activity, the game will not drop back to a previous levelbut instead will remain at the same level until the criterion foradvancement is met.

This game tests and provides training for auditory attention, auditorydiscrimination, auditory memory, phoneme identification, sound-symbolcorrespondence, and phonological awareness.

A third game used in the presently preferred embodiment increasesauditory segmentation skills, attention and memory skills andphonological awareness skills by having the player count the number ofbeats and speech sounds in a series and the number of sounds andsyllables in a word.

In a first task or activity of this game a cartoon drummer presents aseries of 14 drum beats. The player must wait until the drummer hascompleted its play and the speaker icon appears on the screen 16. Theplayer must then position the cursor on the screen 16 and click once foreach drum beat heard before a sound begins to play. After at least 8 outof 10 correct responses are made, the game automatically increases thelevel of difficulty by increasing the amount of time between each drumbeat and by eliminating auditory feedback during the player's response.After the player becomes proficient at counting drum beats, the gameadvances the level of difficulty by presenting speech sounds. The playermust click for each speech sound heard. The game continues to advance byincreasing the amount of time between each speech sound and byeliminating auditory feedback.

After the player has mastered the first task of the game, the game thenautomatically advances to a second activity or task by asking the playerto count each syllable or speech sound in a word with and withoutauditory feedback. The player must click the mouse once for each symbolor sound heard in the word. In this game, the level will not drop backbut instead will remain at the same level until the criterion foradvancement is met.

This game tests and improves auditory attention, auditory (sequential)memory, auditory, phoneme and syllable segmentation, and phonologicalawareness.

In another game in the preferred embodiment, the player learns to blendwords into compound words and blend syllables and sounds into words,thereby increasing auditory synthesis skills, attention and memoryskills and phonological awareness skills. In this game, three picturesappear on the screen 16. A cartoon character presents two words thatmake a compound word. The player must position the cursor and click onthe picture that corresponds with the compound word spoken by thecartoon character before the cartoon character walks off the screen.

After three consecutive correct responses, the game automaticallyadvances a level by increasing the time between words and by introducingmore similar response choices.

When the player becomes proficient in blending words into compoundwords, the game automatically advances to the next level and presentssyllables and sounds to blend into words. The player must position thecursor and click on the picture that corresponds with the word that iscomposed of the syllables or sounds presented. The game continues toincrease in difficulty by using longer presentation intervals,increasing the number of syllables or sounds presented, and varying thesimilarity of the response choices. After two consecutive incorrectresponses, the level of play is automatically decreased.

This game tests and improves auditory attention, auditory (sequential)memory, phoneme and syllable synthesis, and phonological awareness.

Another of the games used in the presently preferred embodiment helpsthe player to learn to hear the differences between vowels andvowel-consonant combinations. This game increases auditorydiscrimination, attention, and memory skills. The game also has twoseparate activities or tasks.

In the first task of this game a cartoon character collects objectsprovided by other cartoon characters. For example, the objects may beeggs which are laid by hens. In the preferred embodiment, two hens ofone color (for example white hens) are displayed in a nest on one sideof the screen and two hens of a different color (for example a white anda brown hen) are displayed in a nest in a different portion of thescreen 16. The cartoon character presents two vowel sounds to theplayer. If the two sounds are the same, the player must click on thenest with the two hens of the same color before an egg falls from thenest to the ground. If the two sounds are different, the player mustclick on the nest with the hens of different colors. The game continuesat this level until the player responds correctly on all same vowelpairs and at least five of six different vowels pairs. The game thenautomatically advances the level of difficulty by increasing thesimilarity of the vowel sounds.

In a second activity, the player must determine whether theconsonant-vowel symbols presented are the same or different. In thisactivity the cartoon character presents two consonant-vowel syllablesthat have been acoustically enhanced. Commercially available softwaresuch as KLSYN (available from Sensimetrics Corp., Cambridge, Mass.) maybe used to provide computer modified speech patterns to provide theacoustic enhancement. This computer modified speech is used to make theimportant parts of speech more easily heard by the user. The acousticenhancement is gradually removed as the player's skills improve.Preferably, the system may also be provided with headphones (not shown)so the player can listen to the enhanced sounds at optimum conditions.

In this game, if the consonant-vowel symbols are the same, the playermust click on the nest with the two hens of the same color. If thesounds are different the player must click on the nest with thedifferent color hens.

After four consecutive correct responses, the game automaticallyadvances the level of difficulty by increasing the similarity of theconsonant-vowel symbols and by reducing the acoustic enhancement of thesounds.

When the player becomes proficient at discriminating one pair ofconsonant-vowel symbols, the game automatically advances to morechallenging pairs of consonant-vowel symbols. The game automaticallydecreases to the previous level after two consecutive incorrectresponses.

This game tests and improves auditory attention, auditorydiscrimination, and auditory memory.

In another game of the present invention, the player is tested andtrained in rhyming skills, using both rhyming and non-rhymingactivities. This game tests and improves rhyming skills, auditoryfigure-ground discrimination, and attention and memory skills. This gamealso includes two tasks or activities.

In the first task, in this game, the player must first determine whichwords presented do not rhyme. A series of cartoon characters, forexample three frogs, appear on the display screen 16 and each speaks adifferent word. One of the words does not rhyme with the other two. Theplayer must click on the frog whose word does not rhyme with the othersbefore the frog jumps into the water. After three consecutive correctresponses, the game automatically advances the level by increasing thenumber of frogs and by introducing three levels of background noise (forexample swamp noise). After two consecutive incorrect responses, thelevel of play is automatically decreased.

In a second task or activity, the player must determine which wordrhymes. This activity is initiated after the player has successfullyidentified non-rhyming words at five levels of difficulty. In the secondactivity or task the cartoon character (frog) speaks a word. Two otherfrogs each speak different words. One word rhymes with the word spokenby the first frog. The player must click on the frog whose word rhymeswith the one spoken by the first frog. After three consecutive correctresponses, the game automatically advances in difficulty, and willdecrease a level after two consecutive incorrect responses.

This game tests and improves auditory attention, auditory figure-grounddiscrimination, auditory (sequential) memory, and rhyming andphonological awareness skills. A flow chart of the logic for this gameis provided in FIG. 3. Flow charts for the other games described beloware not provided but may be readily derived by those skilled in the artfrom the description provided herein and the attached appendix.

In the particularly preferred embodiment, the program also includes afeature which allows the player's data records to be viewed on thedisplay 16 and printed if desired on the printer 22. The option toselect this feature is provided in the main menu of the program. Onceselected, the user must select the particular child's name to bereviewed (since the game can be played by many players whose records arestored in the computer's memory). The computer has stored in memory theparticular games played by each individual child and the child'sprogress through each of those games. The records displayed on thescreen 16 will show the primary skills targeted during play of each ofthe games and the learning objectives that are written in standard IEPformat for each of the games. The data record for each player include'sthe date on which the child played a selected game, the specificparameters of the levels at which the child played, and a cumulativescore for each level played. The data will include the final number ofresponses during which the player met the performance criterion andsubsequently advanced to the next level. A separate cumulative score iscalculated by the microprocessor 12 for each date of play.

The relative amount of difficulty a player experiences at any givenlevel of training is reflected in the player's cumulative score for thatlevel of training For example, the performance criterion for advancementto the next level of play in one of the games is four consecutivecorrect responses. If the player is immediately successful and respondscorrectly on the first four responses (4/4 correct) the cumulative scorefor that level of play will be 100%. However, if the player makes twoincorrect responses before making four consecutive correct responses(4/6 correct), the cumulative score for that level of play will be 67%.

This data reporting feature allows the continual monitoring of theplayer's responses which are readily reviewable on the screen 16 and maybe printed if desired. A variety of options may be provided, such asprinting by date, by range of dates or all dates.

Preferably, the program may have password protection that can be toggledon and off.

The program may also preferably be programmed such that the skills foreach child are customizable. That is, the games may be repeated orcertain games are not played (i.e., the games can be turned on or off).The individual games may also be tailored such that the level isselected, the order of play may be changed, a play may be skipped, etc.

Therefore, the present invention provides an interactive and rewardingmulti-media format which a child may use to exercise the skills thatmake him or her a better listener and more aware of the sounds oflanguage. With the multi-level game format and systematic control ofimportant learning variables, the player receives extensive practicewhich is needed to develop, build and strengthen these important skills.

The computer modified feature is used to make important parts of thespeech more easily heard. The acoustic enhancement is gradually removedas the player's skills improve. With the present invention, the player'sperformance is continuously monitored and the game automatically adjuststo the player's skill level. With this adaptive learning program, theplayer progresses step-by-step to more challenging levels at his or herown rate of learning.

Since the preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a gameformat with cartoon graphics, and may include other enticing featuressuch as lively music, the-learning is made fun to the user. Further,play-by-play scoring is provided in the preferred embodiment. This givesthe player immediate feedback and motivates the player to excel. Theauditory game logic and phonological game logic of the present inventionprovide critical learning tools for any child. The invention may also beused as a learning tool for any user, whether child or adult, which maybe identified with special learning needs including speech/language,cognitive, attention, or processing deficits; dyslexia andlanguage-based learning disabilities; hearing impairment; children witha history of chronic ear infections; and children learning English as asecond language. The presently preferred embodiment of the invention isin the English language. Those skilled in the art will recognize thatthe present invention may be used in languages other than English.

The multi-levels of difficulty for each game deliver extensive practiceand comprehensive training of a variety of auditory and phonologicalprocessing skills, including auditory attention, auditorydiscrimination, auditory figure-ground discrimination, auditory memory,phonemic synthesis, sound segmentation, auditory and phonemicidentification, sound-symbol correspondence, rhyming awareness, andphonological awareness.

It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that many other systemarrangements and games may be devised for testing and improving auditoryand phonologically skills. The description given above of the preferredembodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description. The described embodiments are not intendedto be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formsdisclosed. Obviously modifications and variations are possible in lightof the above teachings The embodiments which were described were chosenin order to best explain the principles of the invention and itspractical applications. It is intended that the scope of the inventionbe defined by the following claims, including all equivalents.

1-9. (canceled)
 10. A phonological skill training apparatus stored on aportable media device for execution by a computer system, the apparatuscomprising: a sound recall game to-train the user's ability to recall,in order, a series of sounds presented to the user; a sound recognitiongame to train a user's skill at recognizing one or more of long vowelsounds, short vowel sounds and consonant sounds; a sound counting gamethat trains a user's skill at recognizing number of sounds presented tothe user; a blending game that trains a user's skill at blending two ormore smaller solid units into a larger sound unit; a sound unitdistinguishing game that trains a user's skill at distinguishing twosounds units, the sound units including one or more of vowels andconsonants; and a rhyming game that trains a user's skill at identifyingrhyming and non-rhyming words.
 11. A phonological skill trainingapparatus that is executed by a computer system, the apparatuscomprising: one or more sound awareness games for increasing the skillof the user in different sound awareness skill areas; and wherein thesound, awareness games further comprise a sound recall game that trainsthe user's ability to recall, in order, a series of sounds presented tothe user wherein the training is adaptive and the difficulty of thetraining is changed.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the difficultychanging further comprises a game portion to increase the number ofsounds to be recalled by the user.
 13. The system of claim 11, whereinthe sound recall game further comprises a game portion that generates avarying amount of background noise in order to change the difficulty inrecalling the series of sounds.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein thesound recall game further comprises a game portion that presents apicture with a sound and wherein the difficulty changing furthercomprises a game portion that conceals the picture for each sound untilafter that sound has been presented to the, user.
 15. The system ofclaim 1l, wherein the difficulty changing further comprises a gameportion that changes the types of sounds presented to the user, thetypes of sounds progressively becoming more difficult to recall.
 16. Aphonological skill training apparatus that is executed by a computersystem, the apparatus comprising: one or more sound awareness games forincreasing the skill of the user in different sound awareness skillareas; and wherein the sound awareness games further comprise a soundrecognition game to train a user's skill at recognizing one or more oflong vowel sounds, short vowel sounds and consonant sounds wherein thetraining is adaptive and the difficulty of the training is changed. 17.The system of claim 16, wherein the difficulty changing furthercomprises a game portion to change the type of the sound from soundsmore easily perceived to sounds less easily perceived, the difficulty ofthe perception of the sound based on the inherent acoustic and phoneticproperties of the sound.
 18. The system of claim 16, wherein thedifficulty changing further comprising a game portion that presents thesound in isolation to the user, and, if the user correctly identifiesthe sound in isolation, instructions for presenting the sound in a wordto the user.
 19. The system of claim 16, wherein the difficulty changingfurther comprises a game portion that requests the user to identify theposition of the sound within a word.
 20. The system of claim 16, whereinthe difficulty changing further comprises a game portion that changesthe type of the sound from sounds more easily perceived to sounds lesseasily perceived, the difficulty of the perception of the sound based onthe inherent acoustic and phonetic properties of the sound.
 21. Aphonological skill training apparatus that is executed by a computersystem, the apparatus comprising: one or more sound awareness games forincreasing the skill of the user in different sound awareness skillareas; and wherein the sound awareness games further comprise a soundcounting game that trains a user's skill at recognizing number of soundspresented to the user wherein the training is adaptive and thedifficulty of the training is changed.
 22. The system of claim 21,wherein the difficulty changing further comprises a game portion thatalters the time between each sound to change the difficulty of the game.23. The system of claim 21, wherein the difficulty changing furthercomprises a game portion that eliminates feedback to the user in orderto increase the difficulty of the game.
 24. The system of claim 21,wherein the difficulty changing further comprises a game portion thatpresents different types of sound to increase the difficulty of thegame.
 25. The system of claim 21, wherein the sound counting gamefurther comprises a word sound counting sub-game that presents a word tothe user and having the user count the smaller sounds units within theword.
 26. The system of claim 25, wherein the word sound counting gamefurther comprises a game portion that changes the difficulty of the gameby eliminating the auditory feedback to the user during the training.27. The system of claim 25, wherein the difficulty changing furthercomprises a game portion that decreases the size of the sound unitswithin the word to be counted by the user.
 28. A phonological skilltraining apparatus that is executed by a computer system, the apparatuscomprising: one or more sound awareness games for increasing the skillof the user in different sound awareness skill areas; and wherein thesound awareness games further comprise a blending game that trains auser's skill at blending two or more smaller solid units into a largersound unit.
 29. The system of claim 28, wherein the sound counting gamefurther comprising a game portion that changes the difficulty of thegame by changing the time between the smaller sound units.
 30. Thesystem of claim 29, wherein the difficulty changing further comprises agame portion that changes the number of smaller sound units.
 31. Thesystem of claim 29, wherein the difficulty changing further comprises agame portions that changes the number of similar response choices. 32.The system of claim 29, wherein the difficulty changing furthercomprises a game portion that changes the size of the smaller soundunit.
 33. The system of claim 32, wherein the smaller sound unitsfurther comprise two or more of syllables, sounds and words and wherethe larger sound units comprise one or more of words and compound words.34. A phonological skill training apparatus that is executed by acomputer system, the apparatus comprising: one or more sound awarenessgames for increasing the skill of the user in different sound awarenessskill areas; and wherein the sound awareness games further comprise asound unit distinguishing game that trains a user's skill atdistinguishing two sounds units, the sound units including one or moreof vowels and consonants, wherein the training is adaptive and thedifficulty of the training is changed.
 35. The system of claim 34,wherein the difficulty changing further comprises a game portion thatacoustically enhances the sounds of at least one of the vowels andconsonant-vowel combinations by changing one or more frequencycomponents of the sounds.
 36. The system of claim 34, wherein thedifficulty changing further comprises a game portion that changes thetype of the sound from sounds more easily perceived to sounds lesseasily perceived, the difficulty of the perception of the sound based onthe inherent acoustic and phonetic properties of the sound.
 37. Aphonological skill training apparatus that is executed by a computersystem, the apparatus comprising: one or more sound awareness games forincreasing the skill of the user in different sound awareness skillareas; and wherein the sound awareness games further comprise a rhyminggame that trains a user's skill at identifying rhyming and non-rhymingwords wherein the training is adaptive and the difficulty of thetraining is changed.
 38. The system of claim 37, wherein the difficultychanging further comprises a game portion that changes the level ofbackground:noise introduced with the words.
 39. The system of claim 37,wherein the difficulty changing further comprises a game portion thathas the user identify non-rhyming words and means, if the useridentified the non-rhyming words, for having the user identify rhymingwords.